We’re excited to welcome Lexi Beach, co-owner of the Astoria Bookshop in Queens, NY as our featured bookseller. Lexi is a NetGalley member, an American Booksellers Association member, and just celebrated the Astoria Bookshop’s 2-year anniversary! Keep reading to discover how Lexi became a bookseller, what upcoming books she’s excited about, and her tips for writing in-store recommendations!

A nice place to start is with your bookseller origin story – how did you become the co-owner of the Astoria Bookshop?

I had been working in various areas of book publishing for almost 10 years before I thought about opening a store. At the time, I was in a job that was increasingly a poor fit, and I started hearing from friends & colleagues in Astoria that the neighborhood needed a bookstore. I started asking other bookstore owners about their work, trying to figure out if this would be a viable next step in my career. And the more I learned, the more it seemed like a great idea. And then I got laid off from the job I didn’t want anymore, which gave me the chance to pursue the plan for real. That was three years ago, and I’m celebrating 2 years in business this week.

The Astoria Bookshop opened in 2013 in Queens, NY in a neighborhood (and borough!) without any indie bookstores – how has your shop been received by the community? Do you host any special events that have encouraged a relationship with those in your area?

The community has been incredibly supportive of the Bookshop since well before we opened our doors. We ran a very successful crowdfunding campaign, we had people offer to help us move bookcases & shelve books before we opened, and we had repeat customers after one day. We host two reading series that are curated by local writing groups, we’ve held lots of readings with Queens-based authors, we run book fairs at many nearby schools, we offer writing workshops led by writers who live in the neighborhood, and we’ve partnered with some local organizations for events of all kinds.

Your store sells physical books and also ebooks – what led you to make the decision to carry both formats? Do you think it has helped contribute to your success thus far?

Indiecommerce (the ecommerce solution offered to ABA member stores) makes carrying ebooks very easy, using the Kobo platform. I’m very happy that I can offer my customers a choice of format, but the sales of ebooks are minimal to say the least. The vast majority of our sales are physical books sold in the store.

We talk a lot about various communities, especially when it comes to those who love and advocate for books – have you found the indie bookseller community unique in any particular way? Has anything surprised you since you’ve opened your store?

Indie booksellers are the best people in the world. Every time I go to an industry event, or meet up with my colleagues, I walk away feeling like I invited myself into the greatest club on the planet and everyone welcomed me with hugs & kisses & industry data.

As a bookseller, do you have any tips for writing customer-facing recommendations that appear in-store, perhaps on a shelftalker?

Keep it short – The goal of a shelftalker is to get someone to pick up the book. You don’t need to tell them the whole plot.

Make it personal – Shelftalkers are written by real people, not a computer algorithm. A personal anecdote can be especially helpful. (I recount how I read the final chapter of The World According to Garp while driving myself to work because I couldn’t bear to put it down. True story.)

Change them up – Just like you would change up a display table, it can help to rotate shelftalkers in and out. If your staff is very small, recruit local authors or librarians to write some for you so that the suggestions are more varied.

Which upcoming book(s) are you the most excited about recommending to your customers?

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff is definitely my adult fiction pick for fall. I read it two months ago and I STILL can’t shut up about how great it is. Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash is a wonderful YA graphic memoir that I’m very excited about. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson is insanely funny.

Lightning Round!

If you could bring 1 author into your bookstore for a special event, who would it be?
Since we already hosted a reading with Roxane Gay, next on the wish list is Lev Grossman.

Your favorite aspect of The Astoria Bookshop:
Our customers. They are just incredible—so generous, so savvy, so cool.

The book you’ve hand-sold the most lately:

Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me

The last book that made you smile:

Mitford at the Fashion Zoo, a picture book about a giraffe who wants to work in the fashion industry.

Thanks so much to Lexi and make sure to visit the Astoria Bookshop’s website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
You can see more tips for writing reviews here – and booksellers, don’t forget to add your ABA number to your NetGalley profile so you can start receiving the free Digital White Box!

Reader Spotlight

All genres and ages from pictures books through Young Adult and even the occasional the adult novel with crossover appeal.

Which book(s) would you suggest for a middle grade level reluctant reader?

In my experience, it seems like most reluctant readers want to read, they’re just overwhelmed (often by the size of the book or the amount of text) or they haven’t been offered a book that fits their interests. So, in that regard, there’s a specific book for each reluctant reader! A few books that I find myself recommending again and again are The Terrible Two by Jory John and Mac Barnett, The Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann, and Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntryre. I also regularly recommend graphic novels for reluctant readers; recently El Deafo and Roller Girl have been my favorites!

How long have you been blogging about books and why did you start?

I’ve been blogging about books for nearly 8 years now! Originally, I started my blog as a kind of online journal to keep track of what I was reading and as a way to meet fellow book addicts lovers. I’m from a very small town and I didn’t know very many other people who were passionate about reading… or reading socially, which is what book blogging feels like to me. I love to talk about books and blogging provided a perfect platform for that. Granted, I never imagined I would be doing it this long or that I would make so many great friends along the way!

You are also a Children’s & YA Literature Specialist at Brilliant Books, can you briefly explain your role and your favorite aspect of your job?

Oh, gosh, where do I start? Perhaps I’ll just touch on the biggest aspects of my job. I do the buying for the picture book, chapter book, and middle grade, and YA sections of the store, choose all of the Brilliant Books Monthly picks for Kids and YA subscribers, and assist teachers and librarians with grant research, selecting books to fulfill grant requirements, finding books to fit into curriculum, fill gaps in library collections, etc. I’m also responsible for displays within those sections. And, of course, I spend a lot of time talking to young readers and adults searching for the perfect book. My favorite aspect of my job isn’t anything that I do, it’s the feedback and interactions that I’m able to have with young readers. Like the time a boy and I bonded over shared love of Rohan Gavin’s Knightley and Son – which he read while in London!! – and then he recommended me a handful of books to read. Or any time a reader comes back and tells me that a book I recommend is their new favorite. Those moments are the absolute best!

Do you feel that your role as a blogger and as a bookseller impact and/or influence each other?

Definitely! I feel like my role as a blogger actually makes me more aware of which books are going to be well received by readers, which has an impact on buying decisions for the store. If I see fellow bloggers whose opinions I value and respect raving about an upcoming book, I know that it’s likely something special. Similarly, if a book isn’t being well received and I wasn’t already interested in it, I’ll likely give it less attention. At the same time, being a bookseller has affected me as a blogger in that I’m more conscious of what readers are looking for and struggling to find. When a reader tells me that he loves books like The Thickety and asks for readalikes, I’ll end up writing a post featuring the books I recommended! My blog may have started as a reading journal, but now it’s my hope that fellow readers see it as a resource.

Are there certain questions you usually ask when trying to match someone with a book?

Do you like books that are set in the real world or in fantasy worlds? How old are you? Do you like books that make you laugh? What was the last book you read? Did you like it? Tell me three of your favorite books. Tell me a book that you didn’t like at all. Books readers dislike are just as telling as books they love!

Which upcoming Middle Grade book(s) on NetGalley are you the most excited about recommending?

How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don’t Have a Clue by Jess Keating, Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon by Kate DiCamillo, and Beastly Bones by William Ritter. The last one is technically YA, but it’s a great pick for Middle Grade readers who are reading well above level. Ritter’s books have great plots and pacing, but aren’t inappropriate for younger readers.

Lightning Round!

If you could interview 1 author, who would it be?

Melina Marchetta.

Your favorite Storytime book to read:

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. (Then we make Beekle crowns to wear home!)

Your blog in 2 sentences:

Honest and passionate book recommendations for all ages from a lifelong reader and bookpusher. Plus author interviews, cover reveals, and giveaways!

Your bookstore in 2 sentences:

Brilliant Books is the nation’s Long Distance, Local Bookstore. We deliver personal service, expert selections, and efficient, no cost shipping across the USA. (Okay, I admit it – this is from our website, but I couldn’t say it any better myself!)

And to finish off our interview, if you could have coffee (…or something stiffer) with any author, dead or alive, who would it be, and why?

Bonnie Sue-Hitchcock. Her debut novel, The Smell of Other People’s Houses comes out next Spring and it is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve ever read. Her writing is gorgeous and her characters have burrowed deep into my heart and head. I want to press this book into the hands of readers everywhere. And if by something stiffer you mean a latte with 5 shots of espresso so that we can keep up our energy while talking books, we’re on the same page!

Thanks so much for spending some time with us and answering our questions Sara!
Please make sure to check out The Hiding Spot and stay tuned for our next Blogger Spotlight!

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